With the gardening season in full swing, it’s definitely time to think about what’s next. Making sure all of your hard work in the heat of the summer months is not wasted. We recently taught classes on Seed Saving and Food Preservation for the participants in our Backyard Garden Program. Being able to enjoy fresh produce during the winter months, when the fresh garden cucumbers aren’t available, is such a treat. We canned them and made Kosher and Bread & Butter pickles that were amazing!

Having an abundance of healthy produce available just steps away can be such a blessing. But creating new and exciting ways to eat your harvest can sometimes feel overwhelming. Having our Healthy Food Classes in the garden provide the opportunity to explore new ways to prepare and consume crops that we may have never thought about. Adding new spices and herbs to dishes not only allows you to eat what you’ve grown, but more often. Have you ever eaten pumpkin leaves or made tea from your corn silk?

Now that the season to transplant cool weather crops has arrived here in Cincinnati, it’s now time to cut some of the ties with our warm weather plants like tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes to make way for brassicas and alliums. Our plant and seed distribution is in full swing. Soon we will have our season extending class that will take our growing season well into the fall. Just in time for a Thanksgiving feast!